Mean Bao

I used to work not too far away, and ended up coming to the Grange pretty frequently for a speedy, yet delicious, inexpensive lunch. Mean Bao is tucked deep into the Grange food court (under the sunroof, as a point of reference), where I normally I ordered: a) the pork belly bao, and b) the tofu enoki bao.
Hands down, the pork belly bao was my absolute favourite. It literally melts in your mouth. The bun wasn’t overly stuffed, but they didn’t skimp on the meat either. It was the perfect bun to meat ratio (there’s a sentence I never thought I’d say!!!). The tofu enoki bao was also super fresh, with a ton of flavour. This is a great, quick fast-​food option if you’re ever around the University and Dundas area!
For two baos and a drink, my total normally came to a little less than $ 10.00.

This place is ok but was very underwhelming. I got the tofu bao, the tofu was just like the «deep fried» stuff you can get in a package from the supermarket and it was not hot or fresh. There was way more bun than stuffing, and the bun itself was spongey (not In a good way). The one really good thing about this was the peanut sauce.

5 stars — would eat again!
This is a great spot for a satisfying, inexpensive lunch in the middle of Toronto tucked away in a food court. This past visit, I tried their jerk chicken bao and tofu with enoki bao. Both featured a well-​balanced contrast of textures and flavours.
The line can get long, but it moves fast. To combat this, it seems like they have something where you can order ahead on your phone and pickup. That seems worth checking out if this is a favourite of yours.

I’ve been wanting to try Mean Bao for a while after hearing about this place for so long. Now that I work nearby, I decided to give Mean Bao a try for lunch today.
Mean Bao is quite hard to find; it’s one of the last food court stalls inside the Village By The Grange food court, across from Est West. There’s usually a respectable lineup, but their turnover is quick so don’t be discouraged by the lineup.
I ordered one of their lunch combos, consisting of a pork belly bao, siu mai dumplings, and a can of Sprite. Despite the fact there were about 4 orders ahead of me after I ordered, I managed to get my order in about 2 minutes. Not bad for a fast food place!
When I opened the wrap for the pork belly bao, I immediately noticed a flaw, which was that the bao itself had a very «scrunchy» texture. I’ve had baos before, and a good bao is where the texture is smooth and slightly on the chewy side; this bao was neither as it was rough and slightly soggy. The pork belly was decent, but nothing to write home about.
The siu mai dumplings were quite good for fast food quality. The meat was a little tough, but the flavour was there and that’s really mostly what I care about when it comes to fast food dim sum.
For now, I’m not too fond on coming back to this Mean Bao branch. Maybe I’ll try the actual restaurant branches that they have?

baos are amazing. my favorite is pulled pork bao. juicy flavorful. had their dim sum too. not bad. but I’m not a dim sum enthusiast so can’t really tell if it great or not. but bao. go for it.

I had two buns — pork belly and pulled pork. They were tasty, fresh, light and fast so I’m pretty happy. The price is a bit on the high side but for getting all of the above right, it’s reasonable.
The location is a bit hard to find if you just go by google maps — it took me a minute to work out that it was deep inside a mall food court (maybe there is a more direct entrance).

First time bão experience, and loved it!
They are super friendly and helpful. Will definitely be back!

As a kid who frequented Chinatown often, I have had my fair share of baos, but always with pork. One day, I heard of an urban legend about a serial killer who stuffed baos with human meat (ugh, cannibalism, amiright?). As a discerning child, I stopped eating them. Though I probably confused that story with the plot of a Chinese horror film, I grew up and became a vegetarian, so I haven’t had a bao in over, perhaps, a decade. I see that they’re somewhat in vogue as food trends go, so I thought why not try the trendy bao?
Long story short, sinking my teeth into the fluffy tofu/​enoki bao was like taking a sweet bite of childhood. I only lament that it is rather costly for one bao, knowing that just down the street, I can get a straight up (regrettably meat-​filled) bao for like a dollar. I’m pretty used to paying more for just about everything nowadays, so it is not a huge deal, but it just makes me a little sad when common street food becomes «cool» and then comes with a premium mark-​up. Still, this is a nice treat for when I’m in the area and in need of a snack.

Went there again on October 22^nd, 2015. I ended up ordering a little earlier than my arrival time by ordering through Ritual app.
I ordered 1 pulled pork bao (spicy option), jerk chicken bao (spicy option), and siu mai. Although it was pretty late in the day (around 6 PM), they had some siu mai available. It wasn’t bad, but it wasn’t super fantastic as some people say. The funky taste was less than that of the shrimp dumplings, though.
Pulled pork did not have that nasty, slimy stuff this time and jerk chicken was also pretty tasty. Turns out the spicy sauce option just meant that they’ll put Sriracha sauce in there for you, which can be convenient. For me, it felt like it interfered with the taste a little bit.

At $ 3.50 per fist-​sized bao, it’s quite a bit cheaper than the pork belly bao from that now-​ubiquitous noodle place on University (hereonforth referred to as That Place). How does it compare?
First thing to note is that this isn’t a fancy resto. It’s purely a take-​out or sit in at the food court spot only.
The pork belly bao cut just a teensy bit thinner than That Place, so to me it felt a little less… what many would refer to as «sinful» or «decadent». I’d like that pork belly to be marbled in with lots of chubs, please. It does, however, have more vegetable toppings though it’s traded again by slightly less pork sauce. There are small containers for condiments to be taken out by the plastic utensils counter, so you can always top it up with sriracha if you can handle the heat.
On that note, the jerk chicken bao was surprisingly devoid of spiciness. Still pretty good though, slathered in that jerk chicken gravy.
The baos themselves are relatively standard par. While I have to admit that put head to head based on the bao alone, I do prefer That Places’. It’s the way better service, the variety of baos, the price point for a not too discernible difference in product, and the ability to app-​order in advance (whereas That Place won’t even accept phone orders — um, k then). Oh, and by the way, if you use the app (Ritual) to order and pay in advance of your pickup, you’ll receive 10% off!

Ok, before I start off this review I want to mention that I ordered take out and had my Mean Baos delivered, so they weren’t piping hot and fresh as most would like them. It all started when I saw that Mean Bao was an option on my Overtime food menu list. Alas, a light at the end of my intensive work hours, where all I usually have to look forward to is what Freshii or Quiznos has to offer. So I waited as I blazed through my workload, waiting for that email telling me my Mean Baos have arrived…
I’ve heard of the debate on this place being better or on par with Banh Mi Boys, so needless to say my mouth was watering in anticipation. I also decided to take it up a notch and ordered the pork belly, chicken, braised beef and pulled pork baos. What can I say, I was starving and my eyes are always bigger than my stomach.
To be fair, I knew the food would be a bit cold, and delivery never tastes as good as fresh food, but wow was this place a huge disappointment. To start things off I ordered «mild» or non spicy for all my baos (because who wants to go that hard in the paint during work right?) and they got 3 of the 4 right. The braised beef bao was so full of chili peppers and spice that my eyes watered like I was listening to «I wish» by R Kelly. The next issues came in my chicken bao, which was full of bones. Yes there were shards of bone in my chicken bao, just like the meat from a freshly killed gazelle a lioness would feed to her cubs. Ok fine, I’ll try and look past those things, this place deserves at least a 3 star right? Upon consuming my last bao, and possibly my favourite of the bunch, I was welcomed with more bones… where the heck are these little bone shards coming from, it’s pork belly!!?
Anyways, to boil it down, I was massively disappointed. Banh Mi Boys still reigns as champions of the bao in my books. Not by a little either, definitely by a loooooooooong shot. Looks like I’ll be ordering that meatball sub at Quiznos on my next overtime meal…

For my first time eating a Bao… Money well spent! Had the Pork Belly and Jerk Chicken (Limited Time Offer) and really enjoyed it. You will not be disappointed.

For nearly $ 9, you’d expect a filling lunch but I was still left hungry after two baos. The baos however were indeed flavourful. The spicy chicken bao was my clear-​cut favourite. I liked the pork belly bao as well but I found the pork belly to be just a bit too fatty. The portion of bao to meat and vegetables was good, I just wish that it was less expensive.

This location is the original one and Mean Bao now have another location just opened on Bathurst Street. While I can’t comment on the service at the second location, but it seems the owner is always at the OCAD’s location and I found the service to be ok. It’s the typical service you would get at a food court restaurant, minus the yelling of course.
*Sticky Quinoa (Chicken, Lap Cheong, Steam Vegetables) — $ 8.25:
it was quite a generous portion for just $ 8! To be honest it was quite awkward trying to open the lotus leaf in the tiny and narrow take out box, so it would have been better if they served this in a bigger box.
When my order came, the lotus leaf was already opened with the egg and chicken on top, so I wasn’t sure if they actually steamed the quinoa with those 2 components? I quite enjoyed the texture of the sticky quinoa, however I found the flavor of the lap cheong was not apparent in the dish. Which resulted in a sticky quinoa that didn’t have the sweet sausage (lap cheong) and salty seasonings that you would normal find in a lo mai gai. Also, the smell of the lotus leaf was quite strong that it lingered? I hope that make sense, because the leaf should only add a subtle fragrance to the dish. Also, my vegetables were slightly undercooked :(… I think this is an interesting take on a classic sticky rice in lotus leaf, however I prefer the latter more.
*Sloppy Jones Bao (cucumber, green onion) — $ 3.85:
The sloppy jones consisted of ground pork simmered in ketchup and I believe some kind of chili oil. The bao had good flavor with a balance between salty and spiciness, and it wasn’t greasy as well. My friend’s bao hold up well while eating, but mine was the total opposite and it was really messy to eat this bao :(.
*Pulled Pork (Apple Slaw) — $ 3.80/each:
The pulled pork came with apple slaw and was dressed with cilantro, and crushed peanuts. The baos were warm and wonderfully soft, slightly sweet and practically melted in your mouth. Although the pulled pork was tender and juicy, it tasted just like any other pulled pork that I have had. The slaws were good and brought down the richness of the pulled pork, and the Sriracha amped up the spice level. The bao was good, but to me it was nothing special so if you are looking for something different, get other baos.
*Pork & Shrimp dumplings (carrot, cilantro, green onion) — $ 3.85:
Initially I wanted the siu mai and other dumplings but they were all sold out. The owner told me they make the dim sum fresh everyday, and he only had the pork & shrimp dumplings left on the day I went. For $ 4, the dumplings were at the right size, had loads of shrimps inside and I really enjoyed them! The skin was translucent yet study, slightly chewy with perfectly cooked fillings inside.

This place serves a mean bao. There’s been a lot of back and forth as to who makes the better bao (Mean or BMB) but I am here to settle the score. At least for bao wise, I find MB to have a slightly bigger portion and the flavour profile is a bit more layered than BMB. There’s an added touch of peanuts and sriracha that really brings new dimensions to the taste. Don’t get me wrong, BMB is still great. Their flavours are clean and straightforward which is great too but I guess it comes down to personal preference.
MB/​BMB, you can’t really wrong but I will deduct a star for their inconsistency. While the Grange location serves great food, I can’t say the same of their second location near Bathurst. I would avoid this location.

Shrimp&Pork Sui Ma has long been on my food altar of ‘items I worship weekly’. So I had to go for the classic when I came here. There’s was pretty decent but not the best I’ve had in Toronto. They could also benefit from serving it with a fresh sauce. But I DID appreciate the speed with which the Sui Ma arrived at the table. And the fact that they served it in the steamers AS IT’S SUPPOSED TO BE — contrary to how a number of restaurants I have recently visited have been serving it — in plates.
What really kicked up this experience though was the service. I am basically a toddler allowed to live and work in an adult body. As such, I often do clumsy toddler-​like things, ie knocking over the portable AC system for Mean Bao and having it land 3 feet on to the floor, breaking a number of the knobs and screws on the appliance. I was freaking out and ready to pull out my wallet. The poor owner came out and saw the shock and concern in my eyes and his only worry was «are you okay?» THEN he tried to make ME feel better «oh don’t worry, sweetie, it’s from China, this happens all the time, just go enjoy your food!»
These people are honestly the cutest. I will be returning to try more of their food because their service has seriously warmed my heart. Although, in the future, the BF will be sent to pick up the food so as not to destroy their set-​up even more.
Addendum because Lamb P made a funny: their bao is mean, they are not.

The baos here aren’t cheap considering the size but it’s done very well. I got the pork belly bao for about $ 4. I love the touch of crumbled peanuts on top. You get to choose the spiciness of the bao. I got it in mild and add Sriracha sauce to make it the spicy level that I can handle.

Had the pork belly and braised beef bao, medium spicy. The pork belly bao was savory, flavorful and balanced. The braised beef was oddly flavorless and gristly. The bao for both was soft and fluffy and just slightly sweet. Also, I have it on good authority that the pulled pork is good.
In summation, stick to the pork.

Banh Mi Boys is better. This place is just so-​so. I had the pork belly bao. BMB gives u a much larger portion of meat, more pickled veg, and the bun is also fluffier. Here, I admit, I liked the peanuts in my bao. That’s about it.
Sorry Mean Bao, it’s the truth. :(

A delightful lunchtime spot — after hearing so much about the pork belly bao at Momofuku and Banh Mi Boys, I wanted to try here.
This place is located in Village by the Grange, so seating is plentiful, and service is quick.
The bao were pillowy soft, and the pork belly absolutely melt-​in-​your-​mouth, though I couldn’t help but notice how sparsely they were packed. Another piece of meat, or at least a few more pickled vegetables would’ve helped make my meal a lot more filling.
The combos are a pretty good deal — you can get two bao for $ 6.65, or a bao and one of their dim sum dishes for slightly more. I was actually quite impressed with the quality of their dim sum — it’s presented in those traditional bamboo wicker baskets, and steamed hot on demand.